Thousands of Cal State Students Protest Proposed Budget CutsBy Christiana SciaudoneTimes Staff Writer April 27, 2004 Thousands of California State University students and faculty protested proposed budget cuts during a lunchtime rally Monday outside the governor's downtown Los Angeles office. The cuts could mean fewer classes and professors and the end of programs designed to recruit and support low-income students. They could also mean turning qualified students away and increased fees at the 23-campus system, which serves more than 400,000 students. "We are putting a face on the cuts," said Lillian Taiz, vice president of the California Faculty Assn., which organized the rally. "It's too easy to cut people when you don't know what you're dealing with." Professors, students and school staff rallied in chants, speeches and song for about two hours on Spring Street, which was closed from 2nd to 4th streets. Organizers estimated that 2,000 protesters participated, most of whom had been bused in from CSU campuses in the Greater Los Angeles area. Police would not offer an estimate on crowd size. The system faces a $240-million cut from its budget of $2.65 billion for the fiscal year beginning July 1, CSU officials said. More cuts and mandatory enrollment limits may be coming next month after the governor's budget revision. CSU is working closely with government officials to prevent further cuts, said Clara Potes-Fellow, a CSU spokeswoman, in a telephone interview. "We're trying to show them the impact this will have on education in California and the impact on future workforce preparation," Potes-Fellow said. The governor's office said funding reductions are necessary to help close the state's huge budget gap. "We've been looking for savings outside those core academic instructional areas," H.D. Palmer, deputy director of the state Department of Finance, said in a telephone interview Monday. Among those at the rally was Scott Nguyen, 22, a senior majoring in liberal studies at Cal State Long Beach, who said he would not have gone to college if not for an outreach program. The Education Opportunity Program, which focuses on low-income and first-generation immigrant students, gave Nguyen financial aid and helped him secure other funds, he said. Education was not a priority for his Vietnamese immigrant parents, plus they had no money for school, he said. His two brothers are also helped by the program. "Kids of color, they have a smaller opportunity to get educated because there aren't a lot of programs to help guide them in the right direction," Nguyen said. CSU officials said they are trying to maintain the EOP, but that to do so may mean limiting overall enrollment at the campuses. Many part-time and temporary professors won't find out until the summer if they will have classes to teach next school year, said Craig Flanery, a part-timer in Cal State L.A.'s political science department."I want to make sure my students have the same quality education I got," said Flanery, a Cal State L.A. graduate. "I'm not sure they are going to with these budget cuts." Schwarzenegger's proposed 10% fee increase means that Cal State undergraduates who are California residents would pay an average of $2,776 in systemwide and campus fees next year. Steve Son, 21, a sophomore at Cal State L.A., said at the rally that he attends classes full time and works weeknights stocking shelves at Macy's. He has a 1-year-old son and a fiancee to feed, he said. As fees rise, Son might have to get a second job. And worse, he fears he might have to drop out altogether, remain a stock clerk and give up his dream of a business career. "I don't want to see my kid go through this," he said.
|